The Kitchen 2019

     This mafia-type film is based on the 1970’s-set DC Vertigo comic series.  Three wives of an Irish New York crime family in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in 1978 continue to operate their husbands’ rackets after they have been locked up in prison.  The men and their wives are Kathy and Jimmy, Ruby and Kevin, Claire and Rob.  The men were busted by FBI agents and receive three year sentences.  Little Jackie becomes the new head of the mob and he tells the wives they will be take care of them.  The money isn’t enough for the women to survive in New York and they take matters into their own hands.  Helping them is the fact that the local businesses paying protection fees to Little Jackie are not happy with him!!  This makes Little Jackie go on a war path against the women!! 

     This film is dark, violent and bloody with a very high body count.  The deaths are from being shot, beaten or pushed.  A woman is punched, kicked and injured enough that she needs to go to the hospital.  The language is extremely strong with swear words in almost very scene.  The characters also drink and smoke in nearly every scene plus there are drug references and a romantic subplot.  There is female empowerment but it dissolves into betrayal, corruption and each woman is out for herself alone.  You might think there would be some comedy elements because Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish are in the cast but that is not the case!!  Everything about this film is what I really don’t like???!!!      
 
102 min, Action directed by Andrea Berloff and written by Ollie Masters, Ming Doyle and Andrea Berloff with Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss, Domhnall Gleeson, James Badge Dale, Brian d’Arcy James, Jeremy Bobb, Margo Martindale, Bill Camp, James Badge Dale, Common, E.J. Bonilla Myk Watford, Wayne Duvall, Pamela Dunlap. 

Note:  Imdb 5.3 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 23% with 221 critics 69% audience with 2,978 ratings, Roger Ebert 2* Matt Zoller Seitz, RollingStone 1* out of 5* Peter Travers, Metacritic 35 out of 100 with 42 critics (2 positive 24 mixed 16 negative) 4 out of 10 with 562 ratings (12 positive 20 mixed 20 negative), Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 3,419 reviews, Letterboxd 2.4* out of 5*, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen, age 16+, 2* positive, 1* role models 4* violence, 3* sex, 5* language 4* drinking, drugs & smoking.
Special Note:  Film in New York City, East Harlem and The South Bronx, New York.